Welcome to the Jungle
by Lost-Remembrance
Summary: Two different animals, an ape and a snow leopard meet in the Amazon and find friendship in one another. Until ships from England come, bearing captures and jealousy... 1x2
1. It's Comedy and Tragedy

**Author's note: **

'Dear god, look here she goes again, making another story!' Must be what's going through your mind right now.

UU It's it sad that I've got over 30 stories and only about six are completed. Soon to be more though, hopefully! Plus about two have been put on hold for a very long time. If anyone wants 'With You' my Inu story go ahead and take it if you email me first. I didn't really care for that one in the first place really… -Red Tail

Okay, here we go again. After making the thirty-third disclaimer or something I think people would realize this:

**Disclaimer**: I don't own the title…it's a Guns N Roses song (Appetite for Destruction).I don't own Tarzan. If I did I would sell him to buy GW . Oh, by the way, I don't own Gundam Wing and I never ever will.

**Warnings**: Relena bashing. Most likely, if not then forget I ever said anything. This is also a 1x2 story, which means that it's slash. I don't think I need to go further. There will most likely be gore and violence. What can I say…I'm sadistic.

**Pairings**: 1x2 (Relena likes Heero so I guess that would be Rx1 or whatever)

**Ratings**: PG-13 for violence and swears, if not in English or Japanese than in Monkey-talk or hisses.

**Story note**:

I've altered this obviously for Tarzan because 1) I can't picture Heero running around like an ape and acting like that… and 2) I refuse to make a Duo and Relena story.

This story is set in South America due to the fact that Africa doesn't have the type of animal I needed to make this story work.

**Key**:

"Regular speech."

"_Animal tongue—in leopard or monkey it will say._"

**Welcome to the Jungle**

By: Lost-Remembrance (Red Tail)

**Author's note: **

'Dear god, look here she goes again, making another story!' Must be what's going through your mind right now.

U.U It's it sad that I've got over 30 stories and only about six are completed. Soon to be more though, hopefully! Plus about two have been put on hold for a very long time. If anyone wants 'With You' my Inu story go ahead and take it if you email me first. I didn't really care for that one in the first place really… -Red Tail

Another thing…UPDATE YOUR STORIES PEOPLE! (Basically, it goes like this… I'm bored. So I make tons of fics. I update tons of fics. I do nothing and am ready to tear my hair out. That's the only reason for my sudden burst of updates and new stories (Letsee, there was Silent as the Grave, Can I Take My gun to Heaven, What Lies Beneath, Welcome to the Jungle, Pieces of Us, I'm with Him:sigh: ARG! Okay, basically the point of this is… UPDATE YOUR STORIES! I'M GONNA DIE OF BOREDOM HERE!)

Okay, here we go again. After making the thirty-third disclaimer or something I think people would realize this:

**Disclaimer**: I don't own the title…it's a Guns N Roses song (Appetite for Destruction).I don't own Tarzan. If I did I would sell him to buy GW . Oh, by the way, I don't own Gundam Wing and I never ever will.

**Warnings**: Relena bashing. Most likely, if not then forget I ever said anything. This is also a 1x2 story, which means that it's slash. I don't think I need to go further. There will most likely be gore and violence. What can I say…I'm sadistic.

**Pairings**: 1x2 (Relena likes Heero so I guess that would be Rx1 or whatever)

**Ratings**: PG-13 for violence and swears, if not in English or Japanese than in Monkey-talk or hisses.

**Story note**:

1-) I've altered this obviously for Tarzan because 1) I can't picture Heero running around like an ape and acting like that… and 2) I refuse to make a Duo and Relena story.

2-) This story is set in South America due to the fact that Africa doesn't have the type of animal I needed to make this story work.

**Key**:

"Regular speech."

"_Animal tongue—in leopard or monkey it will say._"

Welcome to the Jungle

By: Lost-Remembrance (Red Tail)

The stars speckled the big, wide sky as Duo smiled at the canopy of leaves trying to hide them from him. He inhaled the smells of the rainforest, the sounds of animals stealthily making their ways around in the forest. A leaf fell and landed gently on his nose and he giggled lightly, making sure as to not disturb his mother.

He curled up tighter into a ball, feeling the soft, warm fur of his mother. Her breaths were slow and relaxed, slowly lulling him back to the dream world he managed to escape from. He reached slowly for his braided hair, pulling it into his hand and holding it tightly.

With a soft smile on his lips, he closed his cobalt, almost violet eyes and sighed in content. The only thing that was missing was someone that looked like him. No matter what his mother said, she couldn't deny it that he was 'different'.

Perhaps he was odd, different to others and he was always conscious about that. He always tried to keep on his cheerful jester's mask though, never giving up hope that one day he would be accepted into the pack.

His hair grew longer than his family, his mother tying it in a braid that seemed familiar from some place else. Mother had told him that she found his hair like that and learned how to put it up as they let his hair grow free like the jungle vines. He had a slim body, muscles toned out, but not bulging in a freakish way. In a way, he had a feminine look to him, cherubic features and a heart shaped face.

He let a sigh escape his lips, chest rising and falling rythmmically as he closed his eyes away from the beautiful jungle at night. He shifted, his body aching as he landed on a rough spot and pulled down another leave, curling up beside his mother's warm body. He smiled lightly when he saw she was already asleep.

The day had been long, even Duo admitted, travelling all day to escape the now flooded lands of their home like they did yearly. Kercheck, being the leader, declared for them to head near the mountains where they would have an abundance unlike any other.

Stretching a little bit, he relxed himself as best as he could and drifted off, knowing deep down with an ominious feeling in his gut that the dreams this night wouldn't be any better than the last.

"_Sister Helen!" a voice called, sounding over the endless sea of darkness and mist swirling at his feet. A light began to form, filling the darkness and replacing it as he welcomed it with welcoming arms and a warm embrace, despite liking the dark. He always did like the dark, he called himself Shinigami after all. _

_Duo saw the blurry image of a child running and leaping into a blonde haired person's arms. Funny, he thought, she looked like him._

_Furrowing his brows together, he knelt, trying to move forward until he stopped. Red flames were every where and the prowling shadow of a cat was near him. Coughing, Duo looked with wide eyes at the child._

"_Ooo-ee-awh!" He shouted, trying to make the child understand that he needed to get away from the yellow-hot stuff that burned and killed. _

_The animal dressed in black rushed towards him, throwing him out the window and shards of glass assualted them, the amimal using her body to shield him as a howl from the large cat was heard._

_Duo frowned when he saw the boy try and shake the animal awake, crying. No breath came in or out and didn't stir at al. Duo noticed the creature didn't move at all…_

Jerking awake, Duo panted and awoke sharply from the dream. 'No,' he commented, 'nightmare.' The stars no longer lined the blue velvet sky and instead the leaves sheltered the forest from the sunlight, a thick but damp feeling in the air. It was beautiful none the less.

Birds chirped merrily in the morning, pecking away at nuts and berries as lemurs and monkeys swung from branches and landed lightly on large tree's. Fruits were strewn all along the vines drapping from the canopy of the tree's leaves, the distant cries of other primates heard. On the ground floor, the shriek of a jaguar catching it's breakfast was heard distantly.

Despite the rainforest's normal temperatures, they were colder near the mountains close enough to walk to. Duo knew for a fact that the prided 'Zero' pack as they called themselves roamed on the mountain, the territory claimed as their own. Sometimes, the pack ventures near enough from the mountain to enter the rainforest, food more plentiful in these parts.

Which was exactly why the leader, Kercheck, led the herd this way, the climate more moderate for their liking and the pack of snow leopards keeping at bay any dangerous animals such as numerous jaguars and large predator animals like that. Other than that fact, their normal grounds were currently flooded, the river yearly taking it's toll on their lands before sinking back to it's normal level.

Duo shivered inwardly, the picutre of the pirahna he once ran into flashing in his mind as the herd once didn't make it out in time for their departure safely. There were three lost that year, two small and one adult male trying to save them but getting eaten by the flesh-eating fish.

Closing his eyes to take a deep breath, he gulped in fresh air to bite back the bile creeping up his throat. He remembered the blood staining the water and the body parts rising to the surface as the razor teeth finished off one of his fellow family members. Many wept and cried for the loss.

A sudden shriek brought him quickly from his thoughts, Duo gazing at his mother who was jerked away also. Her brown hair seemed to stand at end as well as everyone else's on instinct that something was not right here.

A snarl and hiss was heard, Duo looking over the nest build from palm leaves and vines to the ground below. A flash of white instantly stood out, the moving lithe bodies of the animals turning like a motor as the pack ran together as one.

Kercheck, sensing the disturbance looked up from his watchful gaze to look at the new intruders. And the leopards didn't seem very happy at all for the new people claiming their territory.

He felt a throaty hiss flow out of his throat, forgetting that this was their territory in the first place and opened his mouth to show his long fangs, almost as deadly as elephant tusks.

Getting up quickly from his resting position, Duo didn't have any time to stretch his lean muscles as he lunged back down into the bundle of leaves to find and remove his spear. Quickly, he then grabbed a nearby mossy vine in his hand and his flexible foot and swung over to his concerned mother who watched the fight with hardened eyes.

"_What is going on?" _He questioned with worry in his eyes as he stared at his mother. Pointing below, Duo jerked his head to look at the pack leader, the alpha Kercheck snarling at the intruder—a pack of snow leopards. One stood out from the pack, snarling at the ape.

Grabbing his spear from the mossy tangles of wild jungle flowers sprouting around his nest, the memories of the weird dream were long forgotten as he took the vine once more into his sturdy grasp and swung down with ease and worry as he saw his 'father' fall.

The herd cried with outrage as a thin blood line appeared on the gorilla's cheek, the warning scratch from the snow leopard taking it's toll in managing to infuriate the apes and the leader. The cat's howled with pride at his or her own, a female doing the toll to a alpha male.

He thrust the spear forward, the leopard shocked as he would have taken the blow— Had not the odd member of the leopard pack jumped in, getting howls of compliments from his pack as he saved one of the females in the pack, which was in fac the boy's 'mother' also.

The boy was wild looking, similar to Duo himself. He was momentarily shocked as well as the other person. He had unruly dark brown hair with long bangs that hung over his eyes. His eyes, Duo noticed, were so intense and enthralling. They were the deepest shade of blue, prussian. The wild looking youth narrowed his eyes, muscles that seemed to be corded to his muscles and bones tightly tensing as he stared at his opponent.

On impulse, Duo tried to lunge at the new fighter, the boy easily dodging, his long baggy white pants making no sound in the wind as he gently jumped into the air and landed to the side, hissing with venom at Duo.

Blinking, he somehow knew the boy was trying to communicate with him. To prove his point, the boy angrily pointed to the looming South American Mountains and then punched the soil roughly.

Duo nodded dumbly in understanding; this was their territory. He continued to stare at the person in front of him that looked like him—the only one besides himself he had seen that resembled him.

With another hiss, the snow leopard man called Heero launched himself at Duo, tackling him to the ground roughly as Duo's spear managed to lodge itself through Heero's side.

Looking down with barely a wince, Heero looked back up from the wound and glared at the 'ape' coldly and Duo froze for a moment. "Get…out…" Heero snarled out through clenched teeth, his pointed canine fangs sharp and gleaming ivory in the light.

Duo nodded with wide cobalt eyes as he scrambled to his feet and told the other's what happened. Grumbling, the herd began to move out and head back towards the close shore once more.

Inside, Duo promised to see that boy again. He turned to see the fleeting back of the teen walking with the leopard, on two feet instead of fours as he held onto his side. His pack moved in around him, nuzzling up to him as he snuggled with them once more in their territory.

'I promise I'll be back.' Duo swore, eyes softening as he saw the pack try to lick the boy's wound clean. The boy gently rubbed a cat's muzzle, rubbing the tender flesh behind the ear as he ignored the eyes he felt upon him.

Duo sighed heavily, something different about the boy perplexed him in an odd way. He never knew that there were strangers like him.

He frowned, shaking his head and dashed off, his long braid slapping against his backside until he took a running leap and jumped into the air onto a nearby vine and swung through the treetops gracefully, missing trees he would have collided with.

……….

"_Mother_?" Heero questioned as he looked up from a small pup resting on his lap. He gently took the scruff of the playful cub and put him on the leaves nearby, the playful little cat snarling and biting into a large leaf as he shook his head, ripping it with his sharp growing fangs.

"_Hm…?"_ The female cat questioned, nursing her wound from the fight with that alpha ape.

"_Why was that…ape like me so much_?" Heero questioned as he curled against his mother, using his hands to rustle her fur and massage her tightened muscles. She always got like this when she was reckless, almost like him.

The cat took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, the equivalent to a sigh Heero assumed. "_I don't know. That ape didn't prove his worth though_."

Heero tilted his head in curiosity and his mother licked a tender mark on the wound and he hissed, snapping his eyes open as he mother nuzzled him with her head. "What do you mean?" He questioned, mewing lightly as he winced with pain while pulling himself into an upright position.

"_Rumors dear_." The sly cat replied, squinting her blue eyes to look up at the canopy roof of their home. "_We're unlike other packs you know, we hunt together unlike other snow's_.(1)"

Heero nodded, "Our kind are stubborn, like you." He teased and she flicked her tail at him to mock him back as her lips curled upward to represent a smile of some sorts.

"_Well, we welcome those like us and able to care_." She purred as Heero started to stroke her fur. "_Like you_," She commented, "_That—ape isn't welcomed in his pack unlike you_."

"_You mean Keiba_?" Heero questioned, looking at the alpha male in their pack, Heero close to one but not willing to fight the snow leopard. Those knew that once fought, the looser must accept defeat or leave the pack to find a new pack to dominate. Much like wolves, only human's seemed to think otherwise.

Such a silly thought that they lived alone, shooing their offspring off when they were old enough. Of course human's failed to study the fact that they returned after a half of a year or less of living on their own.

Keiba came up to Heero, flicking his tail at him as he nuzzled Heero, "_Good work_." He commented, nuzzling his mate, Heero's mother. "_I'm proud to have a pup like you_."

Heero nodded in respect, knowing for a fact from the other females that his mother had yet to have a child, being what other animal's called 'barren'. "_Would it be wise to go back home_?"

"_Why_?" Another female, one that happened to enjoy the company of the silent boy questioned. "_We have yet to find our meals for the day_."

Heero nodded, understanding that point. "_I don't know_," He squared his shoulders, looking off into the distance that strange boy left in and a shiver went up his spine. He narrowed his eyes; "_Something doesn't feel right_."

A light wind that managed to escape through the canopy blew at them, blowing their fur and Heero's bangs lightly. Leaves rustled and the cub near the brown haired youth stopped playing, looking with a curious gaze at a butterfly fluttering past him.

Heero grabbed the curious pup without a second tough, instinct taking over as he watched over his family with Keiba. He closed his eyes, letting the warm air hit him once more before they left to the mountains and their snowy habitat once more.

He didn't mind the cold and they often found animals for him to use for clothing. He let his gaze fall to his white baggy pants that fell about half an inch below his heel, the many rabbit pelts sewn together so neatly it looked like it was from the same animal. The bottoms of them were dirty, but that was to be expected. Yet they never got in his way, helped him blend in and also were warm.

"_Right he is_." A cub added, fur on end as he howled in protest to his mother picking him up gently with her teeth by the flap of skin on his neck.

"_If it's dangerous, Keiba and Heero will take care of it_." The mother commented, dropping her child to face the mountains, nudging the little baby with her cold nose. Her whiskers tickled the younger pup that snorted in response.

"_Something bad is going to happen_." Heero commented, reaching up to finger the odd tattoo he had since he was small that never seemed to stretch or grow out of him as he grew and matured. It looked just the same as when he was first found by the Zero pack. "_I can feel it_." He narrowed his eyes, turning with the pack.

The faint horn of a ship coming to explore the new land sounded, waters crashing against the steel hull of the ship holding eager passengers from England.

TBC

(1)-Snow's is simply what the snow leopards call themselves.

Well, what did you all think? Like it? Hate it? Comments and feedback is always loved! . I decided to try a little something different for this story, for those who can tell between the difference in this fanfic and my others.

Liebe, Red Tail


	2. I'm Gonna Shoot You Down Ol' Boy

**Responses:**

LKLTB: Yea! You like it! Woo! Another to add to the tally chart!

Yorukage: Yes they are Some more characters were introduced in this chapter and in the next couple of ones, the other Gundam boys should show up. Thanks for the review!

EquineAngel: That's okay, I do think this isn't like my other stories but I thought, what the hell, why not try something different! . Thanks for the review though!

Confused Reviewer: No, this is somewhat based off Tarzan, which is who I based Duo off of, the Disney version though (the vines and 'surfing' but I changed the plot line, and it'll be obvious in such ways later on . I guess you could consider Dorothy Clayton in this chapter! Sorry about the confusion—didn't mean for that to happen.

Author's note: Thanks everyone for the reviews and this one will be shorter than the previous one. The next one might be longer though

Liebe, Red Tail

**Welcome to the Jungle**

**Chapter Two**:

"_Where are you taking me again?" _Heero, the 'snow leopard' questioned once more with a frown on his face. Glancing at Duo, the 'ape' he narrowed his eyes.

Ever since they first met, Duo had come to annoy the boy until they became 'friends'. They exchanged names and at first Heero had to speak slowly in the tongue of gorilla that he learned from wandering around, being isolated on the mountain with his pack most of the time. In the end, Duo just learned having to speak 'cat' as he called it. He did have a quick mind for learning stuff such as that for some reason.

Heero pulled back a little, his ears picking up on the rustle of leaves as his eyes flashed darkly, barring his sharp incisors and couching low, ignoring the pain from his wound.

Duo sighed heavily, know in fact it was just a bird that cause the disturbance, and glanced at Heero's torn flesh. He regretted hurting Heero in the fight, no matter what they or the pack did, it still seemed to trouble Heero and slowly heal, taking on a red look to his side and blood sometimes still came from it.

"_I told you, I—" _A loud bang sounded, filling the silence as birds squawked and took off flying into the trees from fear.

"_What was that?_" Heero questioned, looking at the direction where it was coming from and Duo grinned, taking off in that direction as curiosity got the best of him.

"_I don't know_," Duo called back, grinning all the way. " _But we're gonna find out!_" Heero sighed, glaring at Duo who pointedly ignored him.

Somehow, the hyper Duo reminded him of Makesha, a young female pup gifted to Malea a few weeks previously. Her curiosity was endless, always trying to bite Heero's ear or his nose. She happened to love nipping and gnawing on his pants, the tiniest taste of snow rabbit still on them despite their use. It helped lure creatures to them for eating.

"Duo!" Heero cried out, the name still sounding the same on either language as he easily dodged a tree that Duo almost made him run into. His side stitched up on him, protesting to the run he found himself breaking into.

BANG!

Duo stopped, pulling Heero roughly to a halt also as he clutched his injured side, glaring deadly at the braided 'baka' as he decided to call him. The heavy stench of something like smoke mixed with earth filled the air.

Heero could feel the forest weep as something fell in front of them, the sickening cry of a small sapling protesting against death as it crumbled to the earth in one mighty shudder. 'A perfect mark at the base with something strong,' Duo assumed with out a thought as to what the weapon could be.

"Baka…" He commented, taking slow breaths to help the startled nerves that took off in a frenzy of unexpected pain with the little run they just enjoyed.

Some rivulets of blood stained his palms now, thin streaks of red seeping through his finger before stopping. The blood flow seemed to have a mind of it's own, coming and going. Keiba was worried just as much as his mother and the pack. He seemed to be more exhausted after short treks for hunting and such, yet never deterred the pack with his "condition".

"I think I heard something over here!" A feminine voice called, the rustling of leaves making Duo stand still, clenching the confused Heero's wrist tightly.

The bushes parted and Heero snarled, crouching low once again as he let the sun and his hair obscure his vision once more.

"Oh my!" Duo raised an eyebrow of confusion at the girl with long golden hair and aquamarine eyes staring at them—mainly Heero who happened to be drawing attention to himself with all his snarling and such. His white pants stood out even more in the jungle, the snow of the mountain hiding him better.

Duo shrugged, in his opinion Heero wore pants because they were warm and he made them himself, not too shabby.

He wore a loincloth because it was what he had and it was easy to move around with when he went into the vines, something Heero refused to do. Cat's always did like it better on the ground. Duo grinned inwardly at his musing, Heero also always managed to land on his feet.

"Brother, brother! Come quick!" The girl proclaimed, beckoning her older brother, who had long blonde hair and crystal blue eyes. Heero growled at the new person.

Another shot rang out and Heero pushed Duo over to protect him, knowing on instinct that it would hurt and cause pain. More red stuff, blood, would come from his comrade and fellow new pack member.

"Heero!" Duo shouted, glaring at the three figures, a girl with long blonde hair and a gun in hair entering the scene before her as she had fired the shot.

"You shot him!" The girl, Relena screeched loudly, making even Heero wince as he looked at his shoulder and frowned. Why was something sticking out of him?

"No, actually I just put him to sleep for a little while." The girl commented with a small, cold smile.

"_Are you okay?_" Duo questioned, once more getting to people to look at him as he spoke to Heero in his 'cat language'.

Heero mewed softly, not being able to focus. He knew his side was throbbing but an empty feeling in him that left him shivering in Duo's arms was blunting the pain.

"Heero!" Heero felt dizzy, barely hearing Duo call his name as he leaned against his friend, darkness beckoning to him as he sighed heavily, breath slowing down and evening out as he closed his eyes.

For some reason, that damned dream came out of nowhere, nagging at him once more as he remembered this all to familiar scene.

_Her body wasn't moving or stirring like she always did when Duo touched her. Why wasn't she moving? Why wasn't she opening her eyes to hold Duo?_

'_Why?" His mind taunted, 'Because she's dead.'_

His eyes were wide, his body trembling as he touched Heero lightly, his best friend not opening his eyes and smiling at him as if to say, 'Sorry, it was all a joke!'. He embraced Heero, shaking him and chanting his name like the mantra repeating itself over and over again in his mind.

Not a stir from the boy in his arms the whole time. He fought back the tears, hoping, knowing that somehow Heero couldn't be dead.

"Heero!" He screamed once again, earning the stared from all the three watchers as they saw him shake the teen he found himself loving more and more each day.

TBC

Author's note:

Thanks to those who reviewed! This is kind of my first try at something like this!

Comments and Feedback is always loved! .

Liebe, Red Tail


	3. Trigger Happy

Chapter Three

"He's been injured." Relena commented as she watched her companion, Dr. Sally Po examine the teen sprawled out on the bed and the unconscious boy near him chained to the yellow tent's support beam.

After hearing the other boy with a braid scream, 'Heero!' over and over again, Dorothy got fed up and knocked him out with the butt of her rifle. Her blunt manner seemed to still prove through the many cracks in her 'proper lady' mask. A bruise was already forming on Duo's left cheek where she had hit him.

"Yes, I can tell." Sally said with the nod of her head, kneeling beside the boy. "He's amazing." Relena nodded, thinking she was talking about him being handsome. There was such a wild look about him.

"He is indeed handsome." Relena commented with a smile on her lips as she looked at the knocked out person.

Why Dorothy used a gun in the first place to shoot the teen was beyond her, the sadistic woman's past her own business. She did know that guns weren't for proper ladies like herself though. Usually the reckless blonde only used bullets but Zech's, her brother Milliardothank godtold her not to use them unless it was an emergency. So now she was stuck with blanks and tranquilizer darts.

Sally nodded, but also added with a heavy sigh, "That's not what I meant." She stood up and brushed the light sheen of sweat on her forehead. Her golden hair tied into braids were leaning over her shoulder, shining beautifully in the

"Oh?" Relena remarked, looking at her gloves as she took them off and examined her fingernails, which had not a speck of dirt in them. She looked up with a raised eyebrow and yawned, showing her to go on before she 'died of boredom'.

"Yes, what I mean is that we should take both of them with us. They seem to be like the other three that we have in captivity back in England." Sally explained, showing her the tattoo of an angel's wing on his left shoulder blade.

"What else?" Relena questioned, getting up from her makeshift bed and made her way over to the curious boy, stepping over the lithe limbs of the other boy's body. "There seems to be something more."

"He's very strong." Sally explained, flipping him gently over as she showed him the faded scars marring his back. "He's been trained a lot before in our hands." She said, turning him gently over as she once again stared at the infected wound on his side.

"And?"

"And? He's unique." She lifted her hand gently to his mouth, curling his lip up so Relena could see the sharp canine features in his mouth.

"He could be the missing link!" Relena said, clapping her hands as Duo stirred slightly in his fading slumber.

"Well, we need to treat his wounds." Sally commented with weary, but wise old eyes as she brushed her hand to her shoulder, knocking one of her braided back over her shoulder as it got in the way. Bending down, it returned to it's original position as she checked her patients pulse.

"Everything's fine with his vitals." She commented with a light smile to Milliardo's little sister with soft light blue eyes. "We'll have to return home anyway tp make sure that those scientist's Zech's hired aren't killing Trowa, Quatre, and Wufei."

"Wonderful. Everything is going perfectly wonderful." Until a vice grip was on Sally's hand as she bent down again to check his canines to make sure they were real.

Prussian eyes opened up and flashed darkly at the girl leaning over him. He hissed, "_Get away from me_…" They stared there, not moving away from him. 'Don't they understand they are to move?' He questioned with mild confusion on the inside.

"Hn." He grunted, pulling away from the two animals that looked somewhat like him, only shapelier. He crossed his arms and threw his best glare at them with a cold layer to his eyes now.

"H…Heero?" Duo weakly asked, rubbing the back of his head as he bent up and removed the collar around his neck effortlessly. He had a knack for stealth and they thought that since he lived in the jungle he didn't know anything about cages. Getting up with barely a wince, minus a small ginger touch to his cheek, he then moved slowly and cautiously towards his best friend.

Mewing softly, Heero returned his response. "_I told them to leave me alone but they won't go._" He questioned with curiosity.

"Do you understand us?" Relena tried, getting only a nod from Duo.

'Wait a minute,' Duo reminded himself as he pulled the confused Heero into a light hug to protect him, Heero glaring from where his head was resting on Duo's chest as he looked under his arms to watch the enemy. 'Since when do I understand them!'

"My name is Relena Peacecraft." Duo snorted, the girl raising her chin to look at him under her nose. "And you are…?" She questioned, gesturing to Heero, who glared back at her which made her blush, and Duo who snorted at her again.

"My name is Sally Po, perhaps I can heal your friend here." Duo looked at Heero and noticed he was still concealing the pain, but it was growing and getting harder for him to hide.

"He's hurt." Duo said, testing the language on his tongue and liked the feeling, like he had done it some other time before. He nodded, showing that

"What are your names?" Relena questioned again, lightly tapping her polished shoe on the hardened earth as she gingerly brushed off some unseen particles of dust off her skirts.

"I'm Duo Maxwell and Heero Yuy." He said, giving her the best mock bow that he could, "_Your highness."_ Heero snickered lightly, nodding his head as he glanced at the oddly dressed woman who wouldn't stop staring at him.

Somehow, it reminded him of Schlect back at the packHis eyes opened wide as he suddenly remembered, jerking from bed.

" _The pack! They might need my help! They'll be worried! We have to go and help them…!_" Relena looked utterly confused as well as Sally, though she seemed to pick up his rambling as something important that he suddenly remembered.

"Don't worry, Heero." Heero looked taken aback, tilting his head in confusion.

"_What? I_…_I didn't_…" Heero stumbled slightly, looking at his wound to see how it faired since it burned like fire on his skin. He touched his white pants, brown splotches on them from where he fell on the earth. Some blood also stained them, his wound showing it's stubborn nature like himself.

Duo stared at the confused Heero, blinking in understanding, "_Sorry_!" He apologized profusely. "_I'm sure that the pack will be fine_." Heero didn't look convinced, even with his words.

"What did he just say!" Relena demanded as she stomped her foot roughly on the earth, causing a dust cloud to escape into the air and make Duo sneeze as it basically landed in his face.

"I don't know," Sally provided while shrugging her shoulders to the younger girl with a temper. "Ask Duo here."

"What did you say?"

"_What is she saying_?" Heero questioned, looking with confusion at the girl with a wary look in his eyes. It took him a while to trust Duo, but he learned and the pack also accepted him yet this…woman comes along and stares at him like that.

Duo laughed and then patted Heero on the arm reassuringly. "_Don't worry, she was just wondering what you said_." He then turned to Relena and looked at her before adding, "He was just wondering what you were saying."

"Duo…" Heero said, looking at the braided boy as he didn't understand what transpired between the two. Whe he first heard the words spill from Duo's mouth, a pain filled his chest until he remembered his home and family. Something didn't seem right about these people, that much is for sure.

"Hmm…?" Duo questioned, truning back to look at Heero as he kept the hand on his shoulder there.

"_I need to get back_…" Heero said, bowing his head as he grabbed Duo's hand and pulled it off his body, pulling himself stiffly up.

Sally walked over to Heero, mouth open as she was about to protest, "Please, Heero…" She tried, hoping to calm the teen she could already tell was reckless. Walking swiftly over to him, she held him back from leaving.

"No." She frocefully said, pulling the struggling boy back. "You're much too injured to go back out ther ein the wild! You need proper medicines!"

Heero snarled, jumping out of her grasp swiftly as he landed on his feet in a couch, knuckles ground into the dirt. He glared coldly at her and barred his teeth. Duo was sure that if he had cat ears and a tail, it would be swishing a flicking in alert.

"_You **dare** stop me_?" Heero growled lowly as he hissed when Sally once more tried to approach him.

"Uh…" Sally stumbled, taking a step back at the dangerously tempered Heero, more so than Relena could be during a tantrum.

"Oh, Heero!" Relena cried, rushing over to him as he pulled back in mild shock. She pulled him into a tight embrace, mumbling things in his ear and such as she chanted, "I think that I love you!"

"_Get off me!_" Even Sally could tell he wasn't very happy at the moment. Roughly pushing Relena away, he pulled himself away from her as he neared the tent's exit.

"What'd going on in here?" Another person questioned, entering the room to show himself as none other than Relena's brother, Milliardo Peacecraft.

Heero barred his fangs at him also, Dorothy entering wih a cold smirk playing upon her features. "Looks like my quarry was indeed worth the dart, eh Milliardo?"

"Brother!" Relena cried, looking up at him from her spot on the ground. Her light pink dress was stained with dirt now, blotches already covering her new skirts and hat. "He won't listen!"

"Well of course he won't." All eyes except for those of Heero's, who didn't understand what was going on, landed on Duo who shrugged his shoulder and flicked his braid behind him.

"What do you mean by that? Obviously, you understand us so why not him?" Milliardo questioned with a frown as he gently touched Dorothy's arm where she was trying to hold onto her gun. She glared and snorted before lowering it and throwing it away from the two curious jungle-raised boys.

"Well, I don't quite understand exactly why I can but I'm a fast learner."

"What do you mean?" Sally questioned, raising an eloquent eyebrow at the wild teen. She placed a hand on her hip, tapping her foot. These two boys had to stay with them, a trip to England in store for them. Especially this Heero. He acted like a wild animal and Duo—he could understand what the 'cat-boy' was saying!

"I originally don't speak Snow." Duo admitted, crossing his arms and nodding his head.

"…Snow?" Relena questioned, still eyeing Heero who didn't give up on barring his teeth at all of them. His glare was pointed at her when he caught her gaze and she stopped dead in her tracks and looked away before turning back.

"Heero's a snow leopard and that's what they speak, y'know." Heero looked over at Duo, sitting down on the earth cross-legged as he understood the word 'Heero' coming from his friends mouth.

"He understood?" Dorothy questioned as she eyed the curious boy's movements as he gazed at each of them, a wary look hidden in their stony depths.

"Just his name." Heero stopped paying attention, glaring at those who kept looking at him. What did they think he was? Some sort of exhibit or something?

"Then what do you speak?"

"Gorilla." Duo simply replied, yawning in boredom.

"Why was he mad at us?" Sally questioned, trying to prode further into the intricate minds. "He wouldn't listen to me when I tried to stop him."

"He's second to the alpha male, probably first since the alpha's his 'father'. He doesn't want to challenge him and make his mother sad." Duo explained, "He just wants to get back home since the pack is worried about him."

"Pack?" Dorothy laughed coldly at the foolishness of the braided idiot before them. "Snow leopards don't hunt or live together in packs!"

"That's what you think." Duo gave them a cheshire grin to show his pointed fangs also. His and Heero's body adapted to eating and living in the conditions they found themselves in. "They come back after less than half a year of fending for themselves and live with their pack."

"Wha…?"

"You have a lot to learn." Duo said with a cheeky grin. Then, his face turned more to a grim expression, "Is Heero's wound going to be okay?"

"_Duo, why do you keep saying my name?_" Heero questioned with confusion and walked over to Duo who motioned for him to come and sit by him.

"_Does this hurt you much_?" Duo questioned as he gestured to the wound. Heero shook his head in a negative motion and that caused poked it lightly, just to make sure he wasn't pretending it was nothing.

"…An interesting language…" Dorothy commented upon hearing the many mews and snarls in a snow leopards vocabulary, a slow smirk contorting onto her stony features as she raised one of her forked eyebrows. Heero shot a glance at her, an ominious feeling from all of these people.

"_Something doesn't seem right here_," Heero commented as he glared at Relena in particular who would stop smiling and waving at him. "_We should leave, Duo_."

"Heero…" The brunette haired boy hissed angrily at Duo as he got up from the bed and walked past the people.

Milliardo grabbed Heero sharply by his shoulder, "You just can't leave!" He proclaimed, "You need to get that treated and…"

"Perhaps he should come back with us. The doctor's said they were looking for one with a tattoo on his shoulder blade and another with one on his shoulder blade also." Dorothy pointed out.

"…And how does this involve these two? They could be very useful to information back in England. Duo understands three and Heero acts just like a wild animal—plus he and I were meant to be." Relena flicked a lock of her hair back to over her shoulder where it belonged. Her hair was in it's normal style, braids pulled back on the side of her head and then tied together with a blue ribbon.

"Look!" Dorothy sighed with exasperation, jabbing a finger at the shoulder blade of the growling and ferocious Heero. Everyone looked at Heero's back, eyeing the one wing of an angel etched into his shoulder perfectly.

"Wait—you're going to take Heero away?" Duo questioned standing up with wide eyes and the four people in the tent, Heero still glaring spitefully at Milliardo who had yet to release him, stared at the shocked Duo.

"Oh…uh…" Relena laughed nervously, "Well…"

"Heero!" Duo turned to his friend, curisng himself inwardly for not trusting the Snow's instinct. "_Run_!" He shouted in leopard tongue.

Heero, wide eyes, nodded his head as he spun on his heel and prepared himself to take off through the exit and back to his mountain…had the hand still clamped on his shoulder released him. Hissing, he ripped out of the grip as Milliardo cursed, grabbed the boy once more.

Dorothy, eager to help capture her 'quarry' once more, pushed the struggling boy onto the dirt roughly, his head colliding with a suit case's corner as a resounding _'snap!' _filled the air as he fell limply into Dorothy, Relena, and Milliardo's arms. Darkness stole his world and he fell into unconsciousness.

"Heero!" Duo cried, leaping forward and only to be restrained by Milliardo, who left Heero in the arms of Relena and Dorothy.

"I'm sorry," Milliardo apologized, "But we can't let you leave so easily."

"Heero…!" Duo said with wide eyes before Milliardo dragged him over to a nearby iron cage and gently pushed him in, closing the door behind him and turning the key before a resounding 'click' filled the awkward silence.

TBC

Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait It took a while to update, neh? Well, since spring break is here (and I'm recovering for my sickness xx) hopefully I'll be able to update my other stories as well.

Red Tail


	4. Escape, Heero and Duo's Style

Chapter 4:

"Do you think that they made it okay, Trowa?" Quatre questioned as he bit his lower lip and tilted his head to the side, head hitting a pillow as he collapsed in a pouting, but worried, heap.

"I'm sure they'll be okay." The uni-banged "lion" replied simply, looking out the barred window of their residence at the moment.

A snort drew both of the teen's attention back to the other corner of the room where another teen sat with legs crossed in a meditating state. He opened his eyes to fix a glare on them, his onyx eyes piercing, "Why do you care anyway? Didn't they take you from your home as well?"

Quatre frowned, it was true they had, and it had taken him some time to get used to the damp and bleak weather of London compared to the clean and scorching weather of the desert. He missed the Magnauc Corps, they were like his family even though he had been their acclaimed desert prince. Wufei had already been adjusted somewhat, the weather somewhat similar to the mountains in China where he had been taken from.

Trowa had a little bit of difficulties, but the trip back he had adapted fairly quickly. Weather off in Africa was more changing than that of the desert at times after all. He did mention something about an adoptive sister in a nearby village that had taken care of him for a while before it was burned down during a raid.

"I hope that the other two are all right."

"I hope that they don't get captured." Wufei replied hotly back, "Then they can come and break us out and we can go home."

"Wufei," Trowa replied in a emotionless monotone, "Stop annoying Quatre." The blonde smiled lightly at the auburn-haired friend and leaned against his muscular form.

"Thanks." He mumbled, mind somewhat eased as he began to drift off to sleep.

"No problem, Quatre." The blonde smiled once more and drifted off to sleep with Trowa running his hands through his hair gently in a calming manner.

Heero paced the small length of his cage with his eyes blazing. His eyes darted at ever single thing that moved or made a sound and his fingers twitched in anticipation, snarling once more at the bars that caged him. The rocking of the ship made his body sway ever once in a while but he managed to hold down the nauseating feeling of the constant rocking.

His whole pack must be worried, they had taken him away from his home and his family. The only one left now he had was Duo on this strange metal contraption.

He was breathing heavily and the door opened. His ears perked and a figure walked in, that same girl dressed in pink. He snarled at her with a glare, hissing out curses and profanities as he edged away from her hand as if it was poisonous.

"What did he say?" Relena questioned to Duo who looked up from his cage and shot a glare at her with narrowed eyes. It wasn't enough that they took them away from their home but they also put them in separate iron cages.

"He said he was going to kill you." Her body tensed and she looked back at the growling ferocious prisoner in the cage. Her hand dropped and she turned away, leaving the room once more.

Voice drifted to Duo's ears and he recognized them as the woman with the braids and the guy with the long hair. He listened intently.

"I need to put him in the medical bay to treat his wounds." The woman explained as she crossed her arms and leaned her hip to the side to hold her position as the ship hit a wave.

"You know we can't do that, last time we did that he attacked you!" The man replied with a frown and fury in his eyes, "No."

They weren't very far from the island, the ship staying in anchor for a few hours as they got settled and carried all the luggage on board.

"An infection has settled in, it won't be long before the fever starts." The woman tried once more, another firm glance from the man telling her the conversation was over.

Heero growled at the two figures approaching and clenched his hands as they walked by, getting a concerned glance from the braided woman called Sally something.

"Heero," Duo said as he turned to face the teen after the door was closed. "Wha—" His eyes were wide when he saw the teen grip the metal bars and pull them apart with as much strength as he could. A moan filled the room over the hustle and bustle of the ship and Hero panted, slipping through the small gap he had created.

"Heero!" Duo whispered with wide eyes as the teen made his way over to his own cage. Duo also gripped the bars at the same time as Heero, ready to help as much as he could.

"_Let's get the hell out of here._" The snow replied as he gripped the bars with his remained strength and pulled, Duo wrenching the bars apart also with his strength.

A creak and moan echoed in the metal hull once more and Duo slipped out easily, his lean body fitting through the gap just as easy, if not easier, than Heero's. After all, if you lived in the Jungle it was survival of the fittest.

"_Let's get out of here_!" Heero nodded with a cold smirk on his face as Duo managed to figure out how the door opened and unlocked it as he slipped stealthily out of the room and onto deck, disappearing into the shadow's as Heero went elsewhere.

A loud horn startled him and he looked over the edge to see his home. The rumble of the engines sounded, and the ship moved forward. His eyes were wide and he quickly grabbed a small sleek black handgun and some shiny black squares filled with bullets. 'Clips' a distant pat of his mind told him. He shoved it in the band of his white pants and felt a prickly sensation and jerked around. Some one spotted him.

The warning was sounded.

"Damnit!" He hissed and ran over to the rim of the boat facing the island and looked around for Duo.

"Heero!" A voice above called. All heads jerked up to see a giggling braided teen with a rope in hand, dagger in the other as he grinned evilly at all the other crew hands.

"Duo!" Heero cried as the boy jumped. Maybe rope-swinging skills were handier than people thought. In an instant, he felt Duo's hands wrap around his waist and pulling him over the edge of the ship as he let go of the rope.

"Man overboard!" Someone shouted as all the people watched with wide eyes.

Then they fell down to the blue waters of the sea below.

TBC


	5. Welcome to the Jungle

**_Chapter Five_**

Waves crashed against their lithe forms, sea water stinging Heero's eyes as he opened them, breaching the surface and gasping for air as he swam over to Duo as best as he could, the aching in his side turning into fiery pain as salt stung at the wounds.

"_Duo_!" He coughed, seawater managing to get into his mouth as he gagged reflexively at the salty bitterness of the cold water.

"_Heero_!" An arm went flailing into the air. Splashes could be heard as Duo swam with as much speed as he mustered. There was a glittering look in his violet eyes—no doubt from the "radical" dive that they had done, jumping from a ship over a story tall and landing rather gracefully into the water. After all, cats did always land on their feet, right?

"_Bitter_?" Heero laughed lightly, arm wrapped protectively around his side to try and stop the assault on seawater to his torn and tender flesh. Stars danced before his vision as a wave slammed into the two of them.

"_Well,"_ Heero sputtered, "_As much as I **love **water, I'd really like to get to land more_." A loud splash was heard behind them and Heero barely had time to turn his head in less than a ninety degree angel before an arm wrapped around his waist, pulling him towards and up onto a boat.

Snarling, he barred his fangs and tried best as he could to escape the captive hold the strong arms had around him.

"_Heero_!" The boat tilted as he roughly jerked out of the person's stronghold. Curses in a weird tongue—the one that Duo had been speaking—revolved around him and he used his feet to propel himself off and away from the wooden contraption and pushing himself towards Duo who was swimming as best as he could.

"_Duo_--!" He was cut short as another chest of a wave hit him, pulling him under as the force of the trough hit him again. He clenched his eyes closed to stop the searing pain burning in them and he reached his arm up, snapping his eyes open when he felt himself drift downward instead of upward.

Slowly, his jerked motions slowed and became more languid; eyes drifting close with each passing second as oxygen bubbles escaped from his mouth. And he closed his eyes…

…Snapping them back open when a hand encircled around his wrist, pulling him upward towards the surface.

'_Duo_…' His mind barely whispered, body calling and pushing him towards the unconscious light calling for him.

But it wasn't Duo that had rescued him. The braided teen was struggling in the airs of another sailor on the larger-than-normal lifeboat, restraining him from saving or seeing Heero.

And, things were never as simple as some people would wish for them to be. The arms of Milliardo encircled the slim and fit torso of Heero Yuy's, pulling him towards the surface as the long-haired blonde quickly pushed on the teen's chest as he sputtered up blood, a small mew escaping his slightly blue-tinted lips.

"_Heero!_" Duo socked a sailor in the jaw, making the guy snarl in pain. And, being the sailor that he was, also let out a string of brash words.

"D…uo…?" His eyes lids fluttered before drifting close once more and Milliardo cursed, thinking he was going to die once more and did another chest compression, jerking back when a loud bang filled the calm air.

The gun from Heero's waistband fired, hitting into the floor board wood. Splinters from the wood went flying, sending some shards into nearby sailors, cutting Duo's cheek, and cutting into Heero's back where he remained still.

Milliardo's ice blue eyes widened as he stared at the water steadily leaking into the boat. "Shi--!"

………

Duo narrowed his eyes, sitting up within the safety of his tree branch, vine wrapped around his arm securely as he tightened his grip on the plant when he waited with barely contained patience for his prey. They would come, it was expected.

Heero was pale, panting as he stared at Duo with relief in his eyes, "Why I hate the sea…" He continued to mumble between breaths as he coughed, some bit of water coming from his mouth. He clutched his now stark-red wound and heaved what little contents he had in his stomach onto the sandy beach.

"_Heero_," Duo grabbed the Snow's shoulder's tightly as he helped him get to his feet, holding the shaking teen's body. He closed his eyes;_ "I'm taking you back home." _He felt the small shake of Heero nodding his head, forehead resting against Duo's shoulder as he slumped his own.

There was no doubt about it—the day had already tired them out. Too much events around them taking place, the world spinning much too fast to their liking.

Heero offered a weak smile, brushing out of Duo's embrace to leave the braided ape's heart and soul feeling lonely without the smaller youth wrapped in his arms securely.

He managed to draw out of his thoughts, brushing the stinging feeling of the scrape on his cheek away as he flicked off some blood rivulets that managed to creep down his cheek from the splinters from the loose shot fired from Heero's gun.

Then Heero's body swayed and Duo jerked forward, barely managing to catch the shivering brunette before he collapsed on the ground…

Duo now shivered at the memory—rubbing this flesh as he tried to drive away the Goosebumps forming from the unwanted flashbacks of the memory. He closed his eyes tightly and sniffled somewhat. He remembered the worried looks from the pack when he carried Heero, who had regained consciousness and simply claimed the fainting spell was because of the sea water, back to his home.

Sounds of leaves rustling below that sounded as if a herd of elephants were loose in the jungle. He snorted and looked down from his high perch. He grinned darkly and tightened his hold unconsciously around the knife he had carved from some rocks found at the bottom of a lake nearby.

"Milliardo---!" He winced at the girl, Relena's, voice and flexed his muscles. The leaves below rustled and his prey was close.

'Now!' His mind commanded harshly, knife flying in the blind of an eye to hit a nearby vine.

"Aaah!" Relena screamed, instantly spikes of bamboo dropping into a circle and digging into the earth as dust formed around them, the cries of animals shrieking nearby as they ran away from the neatly created trap.

Duo dropped in an instant, hitting away Dorothy's gun while Milliardo cursed for not bringing his own.

Sally looked at the teen with sympathy and when he caught her gaze, he glared at her and she shrunk back away from his silent threat promising pain.

He looked at them, raising his chin to mock them and act as if he was the superior, and in this case he was. This was his home turf and no one messed with him—or Heero—in their grounds.

"You…" Milliardo hissed out, "Have managed to cause us a great deal of inconvenience." Duo snorted, 'He says that as if that's a **bad** thing?'

He bent down, doing a swift and elegant bow as he looked up at them, "Welcome to the jungle." They glared and offered him dirty looks. "Are you enjoying your stay?"

Milliardo narrowed his eyes into slits even more.

Then, a howl of a cat filled the air and Duo jerked around with wide eyes at hearing the cry of a snow. Heero's mother. "_Heero_!"

**_TBC_**


	6. Help for a Companion

**Welcome to the Jungle  
**By: Lost-Remembrance (Red Tail)

**Chapter Six:**

Duo's heart lurched as he spun around quickly. He shot a look back at the people in his trap and bit his lip. They would be a threat if he left them there, but…

"Your friend is injured," Sally blurted out, finally managing to break the bad news and help the injured teen. "He's got an infection and needs to be treated!"

Duo looked at her, the doctor having his undivided attention. "How can I trust you?"

Relena gasped angrily, pointing a finger harshly at the ape. "How dare you! You should be helping MY—"

An angry look flashed in Duo's eyes and Milliardo edged closer to his sister.

Sally continued, hoping to beat time and the infection. "If he doesn't get the care, then it'll be—"

Another howl pitched in with the other leopard.

Duo clenched his fists, body shaking as he pulled out a knife. He looked up, bangs no longer shadowing his face. "You," he looked at Sally, "will come with me and you will help him."

Nodding, Sally clutched her medical bag close to her chest.

"Wait," Milliardo protested, getting a glare from his sister for stalling in helping her Heero. "How can we trust you to bring her back _alive_?"

Duo glared, "I give you my word," he icily glared.

Milliardo snorted, "That's not good enough."

"Really?" Duo rolled his eyes, choosing to instead grab and vine and position himself over the cage and grab Sally.

"Take me with you." The older man sternly suggested, "I want to make sure that my only doctor and my friend get back safely."

"No," he looked at Dorothy, smirking to show his canines, "I'll take her instead." He grabbed Sally's hand and then pulled Dorothy up roughly.

"We'll be back!" Sally shouted as they took off through the jungle, Duo leading the way.

Back in the cage of bamboo, Milliardo glared until they were out of sight. Relena sat down in the dirt, huffing as she pulled her legs up to her chest. Looking up at her older brother, she saw him staring out in the direction they had left in. "Brother, why don't you sit down? It will probably be a while."

Milliardo turned and nodded. He sat down beside his sister, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. He smiled, making Relena look up to him in curiosity.

"Why are you smiling? What plot it running through that diabolical mind of yours?" Relena smirked sinisterly. Leave it to her brother to devise something.

"I was just thinking of what a mistake it was that the man brought Dorothy along instead of someone like you."

Though Relena huffed with indignation at the statement, she also smirked. If that Duo Maxwell thought all women were like her, Dorothy would surely be a rude awakening.

"I agree brother, I truly agree."

_**TBC**_


End file.
